MCS news by Matt and Mark Hoppus. From Absolutepunk.net.

hi i am matt and i play the four string bass guitar in the rocking band we all know as the motion city soundtrack machine. here i go to write many words about the recording process, of which we are well underway at thispoint as of today. let me tell you all one thing or two. i'll get to that later. right now let me tell you all about how much i love the thomas guide. for those of you who do not know, the thomas guide is a big book of maps for cities and areas throughout the united states. you might say "hey, whatabout mapquest?" and to that i say "oh yeah, ever heard of a power failure, mother scratcher?" try logging on and getting directions to the nearest cracker barrel during a nuclear winter and see how far you get. my trusty thomas guide is right there riding shotgun every time i hop in the oldstratus and head out to my favorite cineplex to catch the latest high energy feel good hit of the summer (check local listings for showtimes). and check this out - they update it every year!! a couple years ago, the muchanticipated 2002 guide for the los angeles and orange counties had a whopping 16,421 new changes and a thousand new streets, and it comes complete with an easy to use page and grid system. yes indeedy!! oh yeah, we are almost finished with three songs which are sounding tremendous. we have 95% of 'attractive today', half of 'make out kids', and nearing the completion of 'when "you're" around'. in fact, justin is tracking his vocals for that song as i sit here writing to you all and eating a delicious bowlof no-chicken noodle soup. i am no-enjoying it no-a lot. california is fun if you like really cool people, great bands, friends, amazing food, and cool warm days stretch out end to end as far as the eye can see. we all live inone house and the studio is out back, so we are around each other 24/7. i like to have fun. do you? well, i gotta go. rock music waits for no-man, and i want to get on the train before it leaves the station. all aboard!!!

(editor's note: the above was not written by matt, but by doctor Hoppus who was kind enough to put down his brand new t-mobile sidekick for 2 minutes to squeeze out a few paragraphs about his immediate surroundings)

--- Okay, you want the real news? You got it. This just in:

Week #2 of recording is underway. Things are sounding amazing. Let's just say you can expect lots of different guitar/bass tones, snare sounds, and keyboards other than the Realistic MG-1. But fear not, MG-1 lovers, it'sstill there alongside its new brothers and sisters of Nord Lead, Korg Triton, Moog Voyager, and Wurlitzer.

We are nearing completion of the first 3 songs (Attractive Today, Make Out Kids, and When "You're" Around). Justin is currently laying down vocals for When "You're" Around between coughing fits and throat coat tea gargling. Later today we should be throwing keyboards on that song followed by back-upvocals on When.. and Make Out Kids. Exciting. Tomorrow we go back to drumsfor a batch of 3 new songs. It looks like we'll be getting to Feel Like Rain, Resolution, and another to-be-determined song.

Other news:

Jesse is keeping the couch broken-in and the PS2 warm. Tony gives the pool a big thumbs up. Justin single-handedly cracked and consumed an entire coconut in a matter of a couple hours. Matt has fallen in love with perrier w/ lemon, Metric (the band, not the system - though he does feel that it makesmore sense), and the new Mock Orange record. And Josh.... well, Josh knowshow to work the pool now and has a song to prove it. Stay tuned, friends. Things are working and we are happy.